TIOF awards grant to Belarus team
By TIOF - | Jan 13, 2021
PHOTO PROVIDED
Three osprey chicks in a nest in Belarus.
The International Osprey Foundation’s 2020 grant for $2,034 was awarded to Denis Keitel and his team for their research to identify and secure official protection status for osprey nesting sites in the bogs and river valleys of the northern Belarus forests in eastern Europe. Timely protection is essential to prevent logging in critical breeding areas, TIOF Grants Chair Carol Smith said.
The program aligns with osprey recovery and conservation plans developed by the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife. Key elements of the program include mapping four at-risk areas where osprey populations have been reported, determining population metrics and nest productivity, banding chicks and installing artificial nesting platforms where needed, and securing national protection status involving approval from four government agencies.